Tiger's Eye
by AcaciaDawn105
Summary: A new creature has reared its supposedly ugly head. Something is hiding out in the boonies of Mississippi, killing anyone that comes near. Sam and Dean are on the case. But what will they find? Will it kill them, maim them, or leave them speechless? Most likely the last one for sure. I suck at summaries...Rated T until further notice.
1. Prologue

"Please, go away!."

"Oh-ho, kitty got claws?"

"Yes," the small woman in her defensive stance was made even smaller, "And they're out." Her eyes glowed green in the faint moonlight. She pounced.

The man's scream echoed throughout the midnight forest, causing nearby birds to take flight. After that, nothing moved.


	2. Chapter 1

_**Chapter One~Tiger's Eye**_

"Dean." The younger brother was answered from across the room by a half-asleep groan. "Dean... _Dean!_ " Sam threw a wad of paper at the sleeping man. When that did not succeed to awaken him, a boot to the head certainly did the trick.

"What the hell, man?! Can't a dude sleep in peace around here?"

"Not when there are people dying in the next town over. Come on, get up."

"But it's Saturday," came the tone of a petulant child.

"And? You're the one that alway said, 'Hunter's don't get breaks.'"

Dean rubbed his face, "Shut up." Then he whispered, "Bitch."

"Jerk." Came the counter.

"So, dead people, what's killing them?"

"Dunno."

"Wha'dya mean, 'you don't know'? You always know."

"Since when?"

"Since everytime we've had to hunt down some ugly sonofabitch that might be from some slightly obscure branch of mythology. You always find out what it is."

"Well, this time, I have absolutely no idea. Whatever it is, there's no ritual that I can find."

"Is it possible that there's more than one freaky-deaky dude out there?"

"Nope. All of them were killed the same way."

"Thought you said there was no ritual."

"There's not. Most times that we've seen the same thing kill different people in different ways, there was some type of signature. Like, with a demon, there's a trace of sulfur. Or an EMF from a ghost. Werewolves tend to eat the heart, vamps attack the neck. With this...I don't know, Dean. It almost looks like an animal defending it's territory."

"How would you know what an animal's defense looks like? Nerd."

"It's not nerdy. When you read about any kind of attack, the pictures that come with it, there's no real rage behind it, just fear. Look," he pulled out the pitcures of the corpses. "Look, at the beginning, the scratches and bite marks are shallow, like whatever did this was hesitating. But then, as it kills more," the pictures were in order.

"The wounds get deeper and more precise. Are you sure it's not just a crazy asshole with some crazy long nails and a biting fetish?"

"There was no human DNA."

"So, maybe just a regular animal..."

"No known animal DNA either. Plus, the wounds don't fit any animal size in the area. They're human sized...though small human."

"You're thinkin' a kid's doing _this_?"

"I don't know. It might be possible that his or her parents found out and just left them in the woods, or they got scared and ran off. We may be dealing with some type of new mutant monster that just became exposed. There's no telling what we're dealing with until we go see what's up."

"Alright, let's go kill somethin'."

 _Run, never look back, don't let them know who you are, don't let them tell. If they tell, someone will come and then they'll hurt you. If they come for you, don't let them leave. If they leave, they will come back, next time with weapons. Stay out here, where its safe, stay with us, we will teach you to defend your temple, to defend the heart of hearts. Don't let them take it._

 _RUN!_

There were stories all over town, and each one was different. It was a simi-large town, but not huge. Everyone knew just about everyone, but no one knew exactly what was out in the woods. There were no local legends in the library, nor on the internet. So, they had nothing. No one they met or saw seemed any different than any other human. This Mississippi town had no monsters. At least none that could be found. Until they found the one person in the whole area that everyone else thought was responsible for it. It was a little old lady, and the only reason people thought it was her, from hearsay, was because she was a witch. When the hunter's knocked on her door, she looked like she could be the right size to leave the marks, but there was no way she was a real witch.

"Ma'am, we need to ask you a few questions about some recent deaths in the area." Sam sat down. Dean remained standing, looking around for any sign of occult practices. "Do you recognize any of these men?"

The old woman, who had been introduced as Sarah Picken, put on her reading glasses and looked closely. "Why yes. I do, they were well known around town."

"What for?" Dean moved forward.

"They were hoolagins, every one of them. They never faced the concequinces of their actions because of their parents being upstanding citizens of the community."

"Do you know who might want to hurt them? None of their families could tell us."

"Of course they can, but they won't, because of what all those boys did."

"What did they do, Mrs. Picken?" Sam's big hazel eyes could get him any information he wanted. But, they didn't need it for her, she wanted these boys' horrible pasts to come to light.

"Well, they attacked a girl."

The boys looked at each other, "What? Like, raped her?"

"No, no, nothing like that. Though I believed they did try. No, my granddaughter, Eliza, she...well, she's always been sort of an outcast. Her parents died a few years ago, so she came to live with me. She followed my footsteps, I taught her the old ways, the ways of moving through the forest with the Hidden People. No one around here agrees with our ways, so we became the black sheep of the town. She had it worse though. Kids nowadays are just aweful."

"And where is your granddaughter now?"

"I have no idea. She ran away after the trial. The judge believed the boys that attacked her, they said that they were only defending themselves because she came at them, trying to get blood or hair or something for a hex ritual." Placing a hand on Sam's forearm, she assured him, "We don't do that kind of thing. I taught her only the ways of Light Magics. My Eliza would never harm anyone unless provoked. The judge was paid off, said she was insane. They were going to cart her off to the loony bin. She is not crazy."

"Is there anywhere Eliza would go?"

"There is only one place she ever went when she was troubled. The forest has become like a second home to her. Please, agents," the old woman held a handkerchief to her nose, "Find my girl. Keep her safe."

"We'll do our best, ma'am." They stood to leave, but where stopped by her voice.

"Be wary, gentlemen. If it is her that's doing this, it's not for malicious reasons. She feels threatened. The Hidden People may have some control over her, and if they do, you are in danger." And with that, the door closed in their faces.

"Well, that old bat was a big ol' can of crazy." Dean dumped his greasy dinner on the motel table.

"Maybe not. Have you ever heard of a 'huldur' or 'nekko'?"

The older brother snickered before biting into his burger. "No idea what the first one is, but if my Japanese is up to par, ain't that a bitch with a tail?"

Sam rolled his eyes, "Technically, yes. It's a mythological creature that usually takes the form of a young girl, with the ears and tail of some sort of animal, mostly cat or fox."

"Ok, and the other one?"

"It's a Scandinavian creature, usually women, that tended to the furnaces while the coal workers slept. They did all kinds of favors for humans, until they started taking the huldurs for granted, and they became disgruntled. They started doing malicious thing that would hurt the people."

"Ok, so what do either of these have to do with the case?"

"The one guy that did survive long enough to be found by a search party and brought to a hospital, was mostly incohearent, except for one thing he kept saying. 'It's got a tail.' That's all they got that they were able to decipher. Police are stumped at that little detail."

"So, what? Grandma's little girl's go a tail, and is running around the woods killing people that she...or the 'Hidden People' think are dangerous?"

"It's a possibility. I mean, what else have we got to go on?"

"Not freakin' much."


	3. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2~ Through The Deep Dark Woods**_

 **AN~ Hey guys, I'd like some feedback over here, so if you could just drop me a line, that'd be great. Read and Review.**

They waited until the next day to go dig up some more information on Eliza Picken. Though there wasn't much.

"Average student, participated in Band, only ever got in trouble for _reading in class_?" Dean scoffed, unable to believe that anyone could like to read that much. Well, he could, but other than Sam. "Other than her parents dying, and getting called crazy, this girl doesn't have much on her."

"Yeah, you'd think someone would notice a tail, especially on the local oddity." Sam was busy flipping through yearbooks. "Whoa, hold on. Dean, come look at this." His brother slid his chair over, peeking over Sam's shoulder. "That's why no one ever noticed." The girl in they were looking for was always in the background, never the forefront, and wore baggy clothes that would hide any trace of the possibility of a deformity.

"How old is this chick?"

"Well, if the yearbook is anything to go by, maybe...23?"

"In this picture?"

"Oh, no. More like 16 or 17."

"She's so tiny. Are you sure she didn't skip any grades?"

"I don't think so. It may just be that her clothes are so big that they swallow her up, make her look smaller than she is."

"Yeah, maybe." Sam sighed. "At any rate, if this is the person out in the woods, we're dealing with someone who is definantly stronger than she looks."

"No kidding."

"'Scuse me?" Their heads bolted up. "What are y'all folks doin' in here? Ain't nobody supossed to be in here." He was a burly guy, no more than 24 or so.

"Sorry, man. We're just doing a little digging for our investigation."

"Investigation? Y'all them two FBI agents everyone's been talkin' 'bout in town?"

"Yep, that's us." Dean walked up and showed him his badge. "Just a couple of agents, trying to close up a case."

"Oh. Well, who you fellas lookin' at? I'm sure I could help."

"We can't disclose any information about our investigation at this time, but if you could tell us about someone we think might be a victim in all this."

"Sure, no problem. Who you thinkin'?"

"Are you familiar with an Eliza Picken?"

The guy's face immediatly turned sour. "Oh, that bitch, huh."

"Bitch?"

"Yeah. Quiet girl, knew her in school. She was always a bit odd, that one. Didn't talk much, didn't have many friends. Kept her nose in a book most of the time. Word 'round town is that her and her bat-shit crazy granny are witches." He pulled out a coke bottle and spit into it. "Wouldn't doubt it."

"So, what do you think about her...personally?"

"Personally...I don't know. She kept to herself, that's really all I could tell you. Supposedly, she attacked some dudes. I don't really think so."

"You know them too?"

"Sure do, same graduating class. Those guys ain't no count. They used to hit on all the girls, maybe, Lizzy there got propositioned by one or a couple of 'em. Honestly, I wouldn't blame her for fighting back. Them was kinda creepy."

"That all?"

"Yup. That's all. Sorry I couldn't be more help."

"No problem. You've actually helped a lot. Thanks."

"Dean, I'm telling you, we need to go out there and find out if it's really this girl."

"And I'm telling you, Sam, we don't know what's out there, and we got no idea how do defend ourselves against it. What if it is, and what if that chick comes at us, and we can't fight back? Huh? We just gonna let ourselves get killed?"

Sam set his jaw. "She's scared, Dean. I mean, wouldn't you be if you were in her shoes?"

"No, if I were in her shoes, I'd be in another country. Somewhere cold where I didn't have to pull off that giant ass sweater she always wears."

"Look, all I'm saying, is that we at least owe it to Mrs. Picken and Eliza to look for her and try to bring her home safely."

"What in this town is safe for that girl, Sam? The people all think she's a witch, tryin' to throw her in the nut house. She got attacked, if grandma is anything to go by, and that means she's on the defensive. And, she might have frickin' fairies tellin' her to kill anyone that comes near her!"

"So, we find out how to defend against fairies. Can't be that hard, I'm sure Dad's journal has something in there about that. But, we need to at least try to find out if it is her. And if it is, we need to get her somewhere safe." Dean sighed in defeat. There was no talking his little brother out of this. Might as well make sure he didn't get killed.


	4. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 3~ Reflection in a Tiger's Eye**_

It was around 7 o'clock the next night when the boys made their way into the woods. They had spent the day researching ways to defend against fairies and their ilk. There wasn't much, other than basically the same things as ghosts: cold iron, and salt. Other than that, nothing. So, they were just about as unprepared as before. Trudging through the damp undergrowth, armed with nothing but shotguns and tire irons, they made their way to the area where all the attacks had happened. They had a map, with red x's marking where the men had been found. All of them were in a rough cirlce around what seemed to be a bare area on it. By the time it was completely dark, they were nearly there.

"Dude, could you stop stepping on top of me?" Sam pushed his brother back.

"Dude, could you walk a little faster?" Dean shoved him back. "Where the hell are we?"

"Um..." Sam shined a light on the map and looked closely, "I think we're right here?" He pointed to a spot just west of the area they were shooting for.

"No, dude, we were going north, remember? We've gotta be over there." He pointed to a spot higher up.

"No, we're not. We-" Sam was cut off by a high, keening howl-like noise. Something was out there. And whatever it was, it was getting closer. The boys stood back to back, guns raised.

"You shouldn't be here," an eerie voice rang out, all around them. "Leave now, and we won't have to hurt you."

"We don't want any trouble. We're looking for someone."

"We know whom you seek, you will not find them." Another howl sounded, much closer.

Both hunters turned towards the sound. "Shit, man. What the hell?"

"I don't know. Uh, uh, huldurs are known for the strange noises that they make, but then again, so are hundreds of other things." Another howl, this time at their backs, and they spun around.

"Damn it, Sammy."

"Leave!" It was a different voice now. It was soft, almost childlike voice, spoken in a near growl. "Please, go away."

Their heads were on a swivel, but it was Sam that spotted it. He nudged Dean, pointing to the two small spots of light that were sitting in the lowest branches of the biggest god-damn tree the pair had ever seen. They weren't spots like what they'd imagined fairies looked like. No, they were like light reflecting from the eyes of an animal. They seemed to dart a little bit, like whatever they belonged to were cocking its head. Dean lifted his gun, ready to shoot, but Sam stopped him.

"Eliza?!" The eyes shot up and stopped moving, stuck on the brothers. "Eliza Picken? Listen, your grandmother's really worried about you. She wants you to come home."

There was a hiss, and the eyes disappeared for a moment, then reappeared higher up. "NO! No, you can't make me! I won't go back!" *hiss* "Bad, bad, evil. Go away, leave us in peace. Take your bad hurt guns out of our home. Turn around now, please."

"Dean," Sam whispered, "did you hear what she just said?"

"Yeah, 'go away', maybe we should listen."

"No, you remember what Mrs. Picken said about the boys that supposedly attacked Eliza?"

"I don't know, I was too creeped out by the old bat to really pay attention."

"She said 'bad, bad, evil boys'."

"So?"

"What if Eliza isn't out here because of those guys that attacked her? What if she's out here because she's scared of her grandmother? We didn't say anything about taking her back, just that Mrs. Picken was worried. Dean, she doesn't want to go back because the old woman did something that scared her."

"GO AWAAAAY!" That soft voice suddenly became a roar. The person in the tree lunged at them, knocking them both down, stealing their weapons, and then jumping away.

"Eliza!" he was answered with a glutteral sound. "Please, we won't take you back to your grandmother, but we do want to get you somewhere safe."

"I am safe," *hiss* "Here, I am protected. Here, she cannot hurt me. Safe. Home."

"This isn't your home, Eliza. Please, come with us." He was answered with silence.

"Good job, Eintstein. Now, she's gone."

"No, she's not." Sam's eyes were darting around, trying to find her. "She's hiding. Eliza? What happened?" Silence. "Please, we just want to help. We won't hurt you."

Suddenly, there were whispers all around with them. The voices got louder and louder, though still incoherent, until it was a rumbling like a storm. And as quickly as it started, it stopped. A quiet rustle happened behind them, sending the two spinning on their heels. What they were faced with was nothing short of amazing. A very small woman stood there, back bent in fear, her cloths were a mix of what she had been wearing when she ran away, and many big leaves sewn together. Her hair hung in a messy braid, and was so dirty, the original color couldn't even be identified. Her bare feet slowly shuffled towards them. And out from under her ripped attire, a long, slender tail gracefully unraveled itself.

"Eliza?" Sam's soft tone and outstretched hand gently beckoned her to him. "It's ok."

"You won't take me back?" Her voice was so low, they almost didn't hear her.

"No, I promise. Listen, my brother and I, we do this kind of thing all the time. We hunt monsters and protect people."

She flinched, "Monsters?"

"Not you. You aren't a monster. You're just a scared girl, who needs someone to protect her."

"Nice moves there, Casanova."

"Shut up." He turned back to her. "So, what d'ya say? You think you could just...take my hand?" Ever so slowly, Eliza moved forward, reached, and slid her tiny, childlike appendage into his ridiculously large hand. Once he had a hold of her, Sam took her other hand and pulled her to him. "It's ok. I promise, you're gonna be alright." When she had allowed him to touch her, he realized she was shivering, her skin cold to the touch. "My god, Dean, she's freezing."

"Well, that's what she gets for running around in the woods, barefoot, in November. We've got blankets and stuff at the motel. C'mon, we got what we came for, now, let's go."

Sam sighed at his older brother, then pulled his coat off and wrapped it around the girl that barely reached his chest. What fit snuggly on him, reached nearly to her thighs. They started off, only for Eliza to realize that three months in the woods, her shoes had worn away to nothing, and now, she could hardly walk. Her feet were sore and frozen. Outside the protection of the tree, any and every wound she had sustained while in its presence reopened. It was mostly scratches and minor bruses, but her feet...well, there were problems, and she stumbled. Several times she fell, until, finally, Dean suggested that Sam carry her back to the Impala. Begrudgingly, he did. It was akward for both of them, especially considering that she didn't know either man.

Once they were back safely in the motel, Sam set her down on a bed and started running around the room. He started up a warm bath for her, finding clean pjs for her to wear, and then a first aid kit for her feet.

"Just take your time, get clean. Try to relax. We ain't gonna hurt you. Unfortunately, we don't have any good soap, so you'll have to settle for the cheap stuff." Dean put the bar of soap on the side of the tub, along with a wash rag. There were towels on the back of the toilet, the clothes (they had to be Sam's, since Dean rarely washed his) were on the sink.

"Thank you."

Dean smirked, "Don't thank me, sweetheart. Thank my soft-hearted baby brother. If he hadn't been there, I probably woulda just shot ya."

"You wouldn't have been able to."

"Yeah, whatever. Just get cleaned up, you look like crap."


	5. Chapter 4

_**Chapter 4~ Confession**_

"So, whaddya think? She interested?" Dean sipped on a beer, chuckling.

"Really, dude?"

"Yeah, why not?"

"She's just been attacked, lived in the woods for three freakin' months, and now we find out that maybe her grandma had something to do with all this. Don't start with her, man. She's scared, tired. We need to be careful with her."

"Whatever, Dr. Phil."

Sam settled in his chair, going over the files, and listening for the tell-tale sounds of a bath. It took a moment, but he could hear her stifled yelp, probably as her feet touched the hot water. The water sloshed as she scrubbed her skin, and he could hear her make some sort of sound whenever she ran over a sore spot. Knowing the pain of washing cuts, Sam winced. It was a good little while before he heard the water start to drain.

"It's about damn time." Dean had all but fallen asleep, and he stretched.

After another few minutes, the door opened, and Eliza stepped out from the steamy room, her head bent to run a towel over her head. She was limping rather badly when she sat on the edge of the bed farthest from the door. Sam's pjs hung from her petite form, the shoulders hanging off, and the pants tied as tight as possible, yet still leaving a good bit of the legs bunched up at her feet. Despite its wetness, she clutched the towel to her chest, watching both of the men from under the strands of hair. She was startled when Sam stood up, nearly falling off the bed.

"It's ok. I'm just gonna get the first aid kit. Ok?" she nodded, slowly. The giant of a man knelt down in front of her and gently took hold of one ankle. Even after the bath, her tiny feet were still bleeding. So, he dabbed at them with a alcohol soaked cotton ball, which caused her to hiss at the stinging. Then, he rubbed some antibiotic ointment on them and wrapped them up in sterile gauze. "It'll be a little while until you can run or anything, but this should help them heal faster."

"So, explain something to me," Dean furrowed his brow. "How is it that you could climb up and down trees, run across the forest with no shoes, in winter, and just now not be able to walk right?"

She shrugged. "The Heart Tree had a magic perimiter around it. It would heal my cuts as they happened. When we left, all those reopened as if they had just happened. Most of them were on my feet. Plus, when I'm running, I barely feel the cold. I haven't been truely warm since before I left, so when..." Eliza glanced at the one still bandaging her feet, clearing her throat.

"When what?" Sam inquired.

It took her a moment to answer. "When I felt your hands," she paused. "You are so warm." Her arms wrapped around her body. "I didn't realize how cold it was, until I actually felt someone elses body temperature. Most of the time, the only time I felt that, was when those men came out to the forest and tried to attack me."

"You were defending yourself." Dean countered.

"Doesn't matter. I killed them. I felt their blood on my hands, and that was the only time I felt warm the whole time I was out there. The fea are a cold people by nature, and when I came into contact with them, that's all I felt. Cold." Realizing that her body temperature was still down, Sam went and grabbed an extra blanket, throwing it around her. "I killed them." She started rocking back and forth. "I killed them, I killed them, I did it, I did." Her breath came in short, erratic bursts. She was hyperventalating. "It's my fault, all mine, all mine."

"What the hell's going on?" the older brother was suddening right next to her as well. "Is she ok?"

"No, she's having a panic attack."

"Well, can't you stop it?"

"Dean, this isn't something you just stop. One wrong move, it gets worse. She could go into cardiac arrest."

"What?"

"Heart attack, Dean!" Even kneeling down, Sam was almost as tall as the girl sitting on the bed. "Eliza, hey, hey. It's ok. You're safe, I promise."

"My fault, all my fault."

"No, sweetheart, it's not, it's not. You were just protecting yourself. It's ok. Shh, shh, shh." His big hands held hers, then moved up to her shoulders, rubbing up and down her arms. "It's ok. Dean, find her a paper bag."

"Why?"

"It will help her to calm down by breathing in it." Dean grabbed the sack his dinner had come in, handing it to the younger brother. "Here. Eliza, listen to me, deep breaths. It's ok. Just breathe. I promis you, I will never let anything bad happen to you. Me and Dean, we're gonna keep you safe, no matter what. But, you have to tell us what happened. That's the only way we can make sure that nothing can hurt you." He rubbed the area between her shoulder blades, feeling the tension there start to relax away as she breathed into the greasy bag. "There you go. It's ok." After a while, she was calm enough to get a sentance out.

"Thank you. I'm sorry you had to see that."

"It's fine, happens to the best of us," Dean assured her. "Now, what really happened?"

"You wouldn't believe me. I'd end up in an asylum if I told you."

"Try us."

Eliza sighed deeply. "Ok. Um, a few months ago, Grandma started saying about how I needed to learn all her arts, that way I could carry on her legacy when she was gone. I thought she meant the kind of stuff Mom used to teach me before her and Daddy died."

"What kind of stuff?" Sam inquired.

"Magic, Wicca type things, you know? Healing and sending out good energies into the world."

"Hippies, much?" Dean said.

"Where do you think the hippies got it? The New Age movement was largely centered around Wicca, and the fact that it was all about peace and harmony with the world, people, and ourselves. That's what I grew up with."

"And what did your dad teach you?"

"Daddy wasn't into that kind of stuff, but he understood the ideals behind them, and agreed that I should learn. They wanted me to make my own path, whether Christian, Wicca, whatever."

"So, your grandma, what about her?"

"Well, I said ok. But, it turns out, Mom's idea of magic is much different than Grandma's. Where Mom was all about using it to heal and protect, Grandma used it to get whatever she wanted. That's why I was born with a tail." The look of confusion on the boys' faces almost made her chuckle. "Grandma made a deal with the Hidden People of the forest. She asked them to favor me with their magic, to make me special. The fairies have always been michevious beings. Instead of simply making me a powerful witch like her, they gave me this." That slender appendage they had noticed in the forest unraveled from under her too-big t-shirt, wrapping around for them to see. They noted the tawny color and tiger-like stripes that ran from tip to tail-bone. "Unfortunately, that's not what Grandma had in mind, and she did everything she could from the day I was born to make sure no one found out. Even going as far as to try to cut it off." She turned and moved her clothes away just enough for them to see a small patch at the base of her tail where no hair grew. It was a scar, almost indecernable with the rest of the hair having grown over it.

Sam and Dean both touched her tail, surprised at how soft the fur was. Almost immidiately, she yanked it away and pulled it back under the borrowed shirt. Sam cleared his throat. "Ok, so, granny tried to cut your tail off. What happened after that?"

"The fairies interviened. They said that she should be grateful for their gift, not trying to get rid of it. They took the knife away from her and healed the incision, soothed away the tears of a frightened baby. From then on, she basically made me disappear. People didn't notice me in school, and the teachers probably wouldn't be able to tell you anything about me. Then, a couple months ago, I was walking home after my shift a the library, and those guys that I went to school with started harassing me. I tried to get away from them. I noticed something strange about them."

"What was it?"

"Well, these guys had never even noticed me in school, they had no idea who I was back then, so what reason did they have to be messing with me? Then, I smelled the magic. See, all magics have a type of signature on them. It's usually unidentifiable by humans, but I have hightened senses. And, I've spent enough time around my grandmother to know her scent anywhere, even in her magic. She sent those men after me, trying to get rid of me, for whatever reason. All I know, is that I sort of...blacked out. I vaguely remember putting up a defensive barrier, but I have no idea how I got to my house after that. Then the trial happened, and...I don't know. I got scared, and ran away. What else what I supposed to do?"

"Nothing, you did good. If you had let them take you, it's a fair bet that someone would have found out about your tail...they'd have experimented on you, trying to find out why you are the way you are."

"And then me and Sammy here'd be in a whole mess of trouble. We usually hunt things like you." Noticing how she shrunk away, he corrected himself. "No...not... _you_ , but things that kill people...shit, that didn't come out right. What I mean is-"

"What my idiot brother is trying to say, is that we hunt monsters. Things that kill people for no other reason than to kill. You were protecting yourself. Not to mention that you had fairies in your head."

"I guess." Suddenly, the room was filled with a girgling sound, like a giant frog. Eliza covered her stomach, trying in vain to make it stop. "Sorry."

Sam's brows furrowed. "When was the last time you ate?"

"Um...I don't know. I've been living off berries, mushrooms, and grubs for the last few weeks. Sometimes I find a hunter's camp and manage to raid their lunchboxes."

"Dean," he got up and pulled his brother to the side. "We have to go get her something. As small as she is, surviving in the forest would have depleated any fat she _may_ have had on her body. She needs real food."

"Agreed. I'll go out and grab a burger or something, I need some pie anyway."

"No, I'll go. With the diet she's had, giving her too much fat and meat with make her sick."

"So, what? You gonna go get her some tofu?"

"No, of course not. I'll get some vegetables, and a little bit of meat. Maybe some apples or something."

"Hey, kid?" Eliza's head shot up. "You allergic to anything?"

"Not that I know of. Why?"

"Just wondering." He turned back to Sam. "Get her some peanut butter and bread. Best sort of protein out there, it won't take much to get her back on her metaphorical feet."

"Sure, sure." They moved back towards the bed. "Look, Eliza, I'm gonna go out and get you some things to eat. Ok?" She nodded. "Ok. Dean's gonna stay here with you, he'll make sure no one bothers you."

"Ok." Without another word, he left, leaving his brother and their guest.

"So...ya like baseball?"

"Mm, never really watched it."

"Yeah, me neither. Read in your file you were in band."

"I played bass clarinet."

"What's that?"

"It kinda looks like a saxophone and a clarinet had a baby."

"Ah...I still don't know what you're talking about."

"Do you have computer?"

"Yeah."

"Google it." And he did. Then they got into a serious conversation about whether or not each instrument sound was decernable from the others. Which led to a competition, which is how Sam walked in on Dean shouting that there was no way she wasn't able to see his screen somehow, and her yelling back that she would turn around if it made him feel better, because, yes, she could differentiate the different subtle tones.

"The hell you can, they all sound the same!"

"No, they do not. Woodwinds sound very different from the brass. And you'd have to be deaf not to hear how varied a trumpet is from a trombone."

"Guys?" Sam stood in the doorway. They seemed to completely ignore him, too wrapped up in their banter to realize he was back. "Guys?!" The startled. "I've got food." He tossed Dean a container of pie, then set down the rest of the groceries on the table.

Eliza sheepishly got up and hobbled over to them. After making herself a peanut butter sandwich and chomping down on an apple and some jerky, she was nodding off over the paper plate before her. "Hey," Sam softly placed a hand on her back, "Come on, let's get you to bed." She mumbled something incoherent, but stood up and sleepily meandered over to the bed where Sam had bandaged her feet. He pulled back the covers and tucked the already sleeping girl snugly within them.

"Dude, now where are you gonna sleep?" Dean pointed out. "Cause you sure as hell ain't sleepin' with me." Sam gave him a dirty look. "Hey, I don't really feel like getting squashed in my sleep."

"I'll take the chair. It's not the worst thing I've slept on."

"Whatever, bro. Just put the chain on the door in case she tries to run."


End file.
